Sep.25, 2012
Jeshua needed some adjustable aluminum parts for his 150W CO2 cutting laser. His 3D printer can be used to print plastic parts, but Jeshua preferred aluminum parts. So he attempted to cast aluminum parts using lost wax method directly from 3D printed PLA parts.
First of all, Jeshua designed two parts using OpenSCAD and printed them out on his Ultimaker 3D printer. Afterwards sprues and vents were attached and ready for the investment (50% playground sand and 50% Plaster of Paris). Then he put the molds in the furnace and at 1200F the plastic is melted. After he pulled them out the molds were placed in sand. A crucible full of aluminum (with some added copper) were poured into the molds. Success!
Check the photo below showing the aluminum part - it fits the aluminum extrusion perfectly without any maching or even filing.
Read the detailed description of the whole process of lost PLA casting from 3D prints here.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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